| Summary | This was the group that canoed around 20 minutes to reach the Mt. Tongue trailhead, hiked to the two peaks, and sun-bathed/napped on both of them... |
| Owner | Ian Tracy |
| Creation Date | 2009-10-01 14:12:10 UTC-0400 |
| Description | We set off at around 10am, and canoed in rather mild conditions for 20 minutes to the base of Mt. Tongue. Upon reaching the shore, we met up with around 15 hikers from the RPI Outing Club. We decided to settle our differences, make a plan, and blaze the trail together.
*Incidentally, a large minority of these RPIers were Danish grad students. With my German background we carried on a primarily German conversation throughout the trip.* After about 2 hours we hit the first peak to take some awesome pictures in the superb weather. The view of the expansive lake was pristine, and we decided to seize the opportunity and bask in our glory for around an hour. We soon realized that there was another peak ahead of us, mounted packs, and plunged off yet again into the jungle-like vegetation at the edges of the mountains. After an hour of encounters with various near-death experiences (not really), the moderate pace we set through the ideal weather and constant shade offered by the surrounding plant life led us to the second peak. Conditions there were considerably more windy than those at the first peak. However, with the beaming sun above us at all times and an even more pleasant view of the lake, we couldn't ask for much more...We unpacked our lunches, took our pictures, and found the warmest, smoothest rocks we could find, upon which we lied for the next hour or so. As five o'clock passed us by, we all felt the urge to get back to the base of Mt. Tongue and take advantage of the canoeing opportunity awaiting below. Although the water was considerably more choppy when we set off on the water (around 5:30) than it was earlier in the day, we were able to briefly check out a few nearby islands from the water. At around 6:15, a couple of us, namely Nick and I, noticed a few RIP guys cliff jumping (20 feet high maybe) across from Turtle Island (where FLG was hosted and we all slept). We quickly reduced our clothing to what can be considered swim suits, canoed over to the side of the cliff and joined the fun. After drying off and rejoining our crew over on Turtle, it was about time for the FLG BBQ at the docks, which -- along with square dancing -- became an awesome ending to an awesome day on the trail... Ian |